


Until Death Do Us Part

by Three_Oaks



Series: Oaksy's Prompt Game [18]
Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Real feelings!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:02:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23542399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Three_Oaks/pseuds/Three_Oaks
Summary: Benji and Ethan have to get married for the sake of a mission.Day 18:Wedding
Relationships: Benji Dunn/Ethan Hunt
Series: Oaksy's Prompt Game [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676299
Comments: 6
Kudos: 58





	Until Death Do Us Part

Benji felt his soul leaving his body. He had died. He had died, and this was hell, the punishment for a life of iniquity and sin. Not that he regretted the sin. It had been fun. Still, he cursed his choice, his guardian angel, his ancestors, whatever god may be listening and, more than everything, Brandt for coming up with the worst cover story the world had ever seen. 

Ethan smiled innocently at him, and held his hand tighter. Benji looked at the ceiling, and prayed that a bolt of lightning would strike him down.

"Do you, Bill Marr, take Timothy Connolly, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," answered Ethan. He looked so happy.

Brandt cheered in the audience. Benji promised himself to murder him, as soon as he humanely could. It was Las Vegas. How frequent were gruesome deaths at weddings here? The officiant certainly looked as if he'd had his own few brushes with the law, and the Elvis getup didn't help.

"Do you, Timothy Connolly, take Bill Marr, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," Benji gritted between his teeth.

"You may kiss your spouse."

More cheering from Brandt, discrete applause from Luther.

Ethan pulled him into a kiss.

His lips were as soft as Benji had imagined, as warm as in his shameless dreams. He could smell the faint perfume of his aftershave, feel his heart beating under the thin fabric of his shirt, pulled chest against chest by the firm hands on the nape of his head and the small of his back. It was perfect. It was unfair.

Kohler wolf-whistled. Benji remembered where he was, what was happening. They were at a pretend wedding, with the only goal to get a corrupt FBI high-clearance employee with a weakness for gambling and weddings very, very drunk at the reception. He wished the worse hangover of the history of humanity to Kohler, once the mission had ended.

Ethan put a hand on his back, and they left the chapel under the applause of the sparse audience, smiling like it was the happiest day of their life. At least, Ethan was. Benji was pretty sure he must have looked like a madman with a facial cramp. 

***

Kohler was already much drunker than he'd been during the ceremony, shouting for rounds of shots he didn't notice he was the only one drinking. And even then, he'd already been far gone enough to notice he was the only guest that had been invited to their suspiciously impromptu wedding, after Ethan had proposed right under his nose. 

Benji wished with all his being that Kohler would roll under the table soon, that they could put this masquerade behind them and pretend it had never happened. But, like a true alcoholic, he didn't seem to show any signs of weakness. If anything, he was getting more excited as the drinks kept coming.

He slapped a sweaty arm around Benji.

"So, tell me, Timmy, which one of you is the one who, you know, takes it?"

Benji spat his drink. For the seventeenth time that evening, he considered whether jail time and a heavy conscience were too heavy a price to be rid of that idiot.

"We've never had sex," he answered, biting his cheek to keep himself from screaming. Better to pass for prudes than spend one more instant discussing his imaginary sex life with Ethan. Not that he'd never pondered both scenarios himself.

"What? Really? You need to fix that. It's your wedding night!" Kohler slurred. "My friend is the manager. Come with me!"

He dragged Ethan and Benji by a hand each, crossing the casino floor until they reached the lobby, Luther and Brandt following closely.

"Manny, hi, can you get me the nuptial suite for the night?"

"Sure thing, Bill. On your account?"

" 'Course. Gimme the key."

After an interminable ride in the elevator, they arrived before a door, which Kohler opened as soon as he'd figured out how to put the key into the hole.

"Get in, you two!"

Benji tried to fight him, but he pushed them into the room and slammed the door. Benji jumped to try the handle.

"That bastard locked us in!" he shouted.

Through the door, he could hear Luther leading Kohler away.

"Let me take you back to your room, buddy. There..."

"At least the others shouldn't have too much trouble completing the mission," Ethan said.

"How can you be this relaxed? Do you have a lock pick?"

Ethan shook his head.

"I'm going to break that door."

"Benji, don't you think we can just let Luther and Brandt handle it, enjoy the room? It's not that bad."

"It has a jacuzzi! The bed is in the shape of a heart! Oh my god, are those condoms on the night stand?"

"At least there aren't any jaguars. Remember Brazil?"

"I wish there were jaguars," Benji said.

There was a blank.

"I'm sorry, Benji. I didn't think it you'd hate it that much."

"Let's just sleep and never talk about it again."

Benji didn't look at Ethan when he grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the bed and threw them on the floor, before curling into them.

"Do you want me to leave?" Ethan asked. There was something in his voice that Benji couldn't identify, an edge of sadness. It wasn't much, and he doubted that anyone else would have noticed, but he knew Ethan, he'd known him for years. He'd loved him for years.

"But you said..." 

"I know what I said. But if me being there makes you uncomfortable, I'll leave."

"It's not your fault."

"Are you angry with me?"

Benji rubbed his eyes, trying to fight his growing headache.

"I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with Brandt, I'm angry with Kohler." And, after a breath, "I'm angry with myself."

"Why?"

"Because this is hard for me. I'm sorry about being weird, and mad. It's just... hard."

"Why, Benji?"

"Please don't ask me that. Please, Ethan."

It was the last chance, the last moment they could still pretend that everything was normal, that they were nothing but colleagues and friend. Benji felt like his life was balancing on a knife's edge.

"Why?" Ethan repeated.

He fell.

"Because pretending that I don't love you is the most difficult thing that I've ever done. And it only gets harder when you look at me like that, when you speak to me with that voice, when you kiss me and take me into your arms. Because I hate every moment that reminds me that this isn't real, that it will never be. Because I'm so sorry that I betrayed you, that I ruined everything."

"Benji. You didn't ruin everything."

"How? How do we go back, now?"

"I don't want to go back."

Benji didn't understand.

"Do you want me to leave the team?"

That was it. His worst nightmare. 

"I love you, Benji."

Benji froze.

"Please don't make fun of me."

"What? I'm not..."

"Course you are. The whole setup, the wedding and everything... Did you plan that with Brandt?" 

"Benji. I would never do that to you."

"Then why..."

Benji started remembering. All the times Ethan had risked his life for him. How desperate he'd been in London, how scared he'd looked when he'd seen his wounds in Kashmir. How he smiled when Benji was there, like he was the only one in the room.

"Wait, are you serious?"

"Let me show it to you. Please." 

Ethan's eyes were earnest, and Benji could see the mirror image of the fear he'd been feeling, just minutes before. Finally, he understood.

"How would you do that?" Benji said, his heart beating hard. His voice was low, lower than usual. He watched Ethan, very carefully.

"Come to bed with me, and you'll see," he smiled devilishly. 

Benji did.


End file.
